“My grandmothers speak Quechua—my family passed their roots onto me…This is where my social responsibility to protect, value, respect, and love Quechua as well as our ancestors was born.”

Jun 14

Renata Flores Rivera (ray-nah-tah flaw-rayz ree-veh-rah)

singer, language preservationist

IMAGE SOURCE: David Alejandro Rendón. “Renata Flores, Rescuing The Quechua Language Of The Incas.” Blog post. imagenmiami.com. 29 Aug. 2015. | TEXT SOURCE: Gerald Padilla. “Interview with Quechua Pop Singer Renata Flores Rivera.” Latino Book Review. 16 Dec. 2018.

QUOTE CONTEXT: “When I was 8 years old I would ask myself why people rejected my grandmother, and when I grew up I understood it was because of her mother tongue which is Quechua.”

QUOTE QUESTION: When was your social responsibility born?

IMAGE CONTEXT: “A video recorded in the Inca ruins of Vilcashuamán, in the Ayacucho region, where Renata is originally from, was born from her interpretation…She does not stop declaring 'Young people also speak Quechua'.”

IMAGE QUESTION: What background do you choose when facing the world?

MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT: The quote is from an interview. The image is from a music video.

MEDIA LITERACY QUESTION: What media forms capture the oral traditions of your People?

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“My grandmothers speak Quechua—my family passed their roots onto me…This is where my social responsibility to protect, value, respect, and love Quechua as well as our ancestors was born.”

Renata Flores Rivera (ray-nah-tah flaw-rayz ree-veh-rah)

“We are returning to the old systems—ayni, family, agriculture. As there is no economic movement, this is how we are living.”

“For us, the bridge is the soul and spirit of our Inca (ancestors) that touches & caresses us like the wind. If we stop preserving it, it would be like if we die"